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288. Engagement Ep – I Am That Guy

Why is this woman here?

Ray couldn’t hide his confusion. He had clearly said not to serve Malpas, and he had even promised not to do so… But where was Ran?

He didn’t know. He thought of Ran, but his Tracking Skill wasn’t working, and just then, he heard a rustling sound from above.

“Watch out!!”

A man with navy blue hair shouted from the fifth-floor railing. A crow the size of a cart dove down and pecked at the spot where Ray had been.

Ray rolled away to avoid it. Halpas, who had landed on the ground, glared at Ray and Arpen with its menacing black beak, which had eight eyes arranged in pairs on either side of its head. And it spoke.

– A new prey has arrived! Oh, but now I see, they are just meddlesome fools, the filthy apostle of the deity… Caw!

“Filthy? That’s you, crow.”

Arpen provoked back. However, it seemed Halpas didn’t care.

– Malpas, this foolish one has messed up. What kind of behavior led to your identity being exposed? And how did you arrive here directly? Caw!

“…”

It was a soliloquy. It was just muttering to itself, with no intention of having a conversation. It leisurely wiped its beak with its wings. At that moment, Prince Pablo shouted from above.

“Don’t listen to him!”

– Damn. I wasted my power helping Malpas transform. What? For a greater victory? Ugh, he doesn’t listen when I say it should come after dealing with the Swordmaster. Caw!

Ray snapped back to attention at the prince’s warning and looked around.

For some time now, a number ‘7’ had been hovering above the heads of the knights, including Arpen and Lera. When Halpas cawed, it decreased to ‘6’, which certainly couldn’t be a good sign.

– Malpas has always been like this. Even when Saint Azra split us in two, he didn’t listen. I told him to flee to Ice Island, but he preferred the swamp? If it weren’t for me, we would’ve been caught and annihilated by Azra. Caw!

Ray covered Lera’s ears.

Whatever it was, he was trying to block any negative influence from reaching her, and he couldn’t fully listen to Halpas’s words. Lera, too, was similarly distracted.

The final caw was unavoidable, but the numbers above Ray and Lera’s heads did not decrease.

On the other hand, those who had listened to Halpas until the end, Arpen and the other knights, saw their numbers drop to ‘5’, and the prince warned once more. The number ‘2’ hovered above his navy blue head, as he leaned over the railing.

“You mustn’t listen to him! If you listen to him until the end, your number will drop to ‘1’, and you will become his slave! Blocking your ears is useless—just don’t focus on him!”

– Ah, prince. My poor son. Didn’t I tell you? Commoners and royalty cannot connect. If she learns your identity, she’ll faint…

“Then why not keep him from speaking? Attack!”

Arpen charged forward, swinging his great sword. But Halpas, unperturbed by the glowing Oblivion Blade, soared into the air. Looking down at Arpen, it said:

– You possess a fine Oblivion Blade. I envy you. But you do realize that it isn’t originally yours, right? Apostles are like that. Mortals can only swing it. Caw!

“I can’t hear you, you fool!”

But the number above Arpen’s head had already dropped to ‘4’. Noticing this, his expression grew awkward.

If it just flew away, that would be the end of it.

No matter how skilled a Swordmaster, a human must have their feet on the ground, while a winged creature was free from the earth. Arpen swore, “Damn it!” and ran to find the stairs.

Ray began to understand the situation. He realized why the knights were scattered and fighting on that upper floor. They were waiting for Halpas to step onto the railing to make their move.

“Lera, let’s go together. If we go up…”

Just as Ray was about to lead Lera up the stairs, Halpas fluttered down from the second floor.

– Oh, divine toys. You are lovers, it seems… Caw, caw, caw, surprised, huh? Want to know how I knew?

“Don’t listen!”

Ray again covered Lera’s ears. However, Halpas’s voice was not loud, yet it penetrated their minds directly. Moreover, it couldn’t be dismissed.

– Girl toy. I can see you’re carrying his seed. Congratulations! You’ll be pregnant soon. Caw!

Ray froze, clutching Lera’s head. His chest tightened, and he hoped she hadn’t heard that filthy creature’s words. However, the number above Lera’s golden straw-haired head had turned to ‘5’.

“I-I’m having a child…?”

“Liar! Lera, stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Ray dashed off. He had never wanted to kill someone so much in his life.

By the time Ray ran up to the fifth floor, Halpas was flying even higher. The lofty square hall had a corridor with railings, and it flitted to and fro, either speaking to someone or landing in the corridor to attack.

It was strong even without flying.

At the very least, it took a gathering of three or four knights to barely challenge it, but Halpas would flutter away whenever the knights gathered against it. With interruptions from speaking, one knight eventually received the number ‘1’.

– Caw, caw, caw! Jump down!

The dazed knight leaped down without hesitation. Perhaps it wasn’t a very strong suggestion, as he regained consciousness mid-fall, screamed, and then, thud! Plummeted headfirst into the ground.

A knight could land safely, even from 3 or 4 floors, but that was only if they jumped with their landing in mind; if they threw themselves off like a dive, there was no chance of survival.

At that moment, Ray spotted Prince Pablo de Klaus, who had just warned them earlier, and exchanged a brief greeting.

[ Achievement: Met Pablo de Klaus – Gained slight favor from all nobles serving the Klaus royal family. Gained slight favor from Pablo de Klaus. ]

“Hello. I’m Ray Dexter. You’re the prince, right?”

No time to worry about etiquette or anything, he just nodded, and Pablo accepted it with indifference. Soon, the prince asked.

“Thank you for coming. But who are you?”

“We are the First Knight Order of the Austin Kingdom. Baron Arpen Albasete, the commander, has also arrived.”

“Oh! I’ve heard from Sir Jacob. I must thank you for your warning. I appreciate your coming as well.”

“Not at all. It’s simply the right thing to do. But… what happened to Count Jacob Modred over there? I would have thought he was warned to be cautious of the king. If only he had been a little more careful…”

Ray asked somewhat disapprovingly.

He thought they had acted too hastily. Prince Pablo de Klaus shook his head and indicated they had no choice.

“I had only just received your message when my father… no, the king changed. Count Jacob Modred was dismissed from his position as Knight Commander and accused of treason. Count Modred has tried to hide as much as possible. I attempted to seek help from the church, but… it was insufficient. My authority is no match for royal command. While the cardinal and the church’s priests and holy knights were being expelled, all I could do was try to win the knights over to my side. Count Modred’s loyalty helped.”

“…”

“The king sent out proclamations throughout Manubiul, and I was going around persuading the nobles… It was a tense situation. I didn’t know when I’d be deposed, and then just last night, Count Jacob insisted he must go to the royal palace immediately.”

“Why?”

The prince shrugged.

“I don’t know. Count Jacob said something felt off; that if he didn’t get to the royal palace right away, something terrible would happen. He was insistent. He was so adamant he pushed the undertaking forward. He led the knights to storm the palace, and… there was an egg.”

The prince approached the railing. He pointed at the egg that Lera’s sister, Anne Abiker, was holding.

“Count Jacob pounced on that. Even when the king transformed into a crow, he didn’t take his eyes off it. Only after breaking the egg and killing the person inside did he seem relieved. But at that moment, that crow pierced his chest.”

“…I see. My apologies.”

The prince shrugged his shoulders again. While he had the same navy blue hair, he had a lighter demeanor compared to Prince Anolf de Klaus, who looked perfect in every regard. Now it was his turn to ask.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask someone who just arrived this, but how do you think we should capture that thing? We fought all night and couldn’t find a way.”

“Does he never tire?”

“Yes. We are the ones who have grown tired.”

Ray turned to look at Halpas.

A cart-sized body with wings made of feathers. It was clear he was conserving his power.

In stark contrast to Malpas, who revealed a huge physique and fought with steel wings, Halpas appeared much less imposing. Except for the “Call of the Battlefield” laid out earlier in Manubiul, he was definitely not using any power at all.

Compared to Oriax, he thought Malpas was cunning, but this guy was even more so.

However, how could one handle a so-called god that fought in such an unconcerned manner? Moreover, being able to fly was an enormous advantage.

“Have you tried shooting arrows at it?”

“Of course. I grabbed a guard’s bow and shot. The feathers just lodged and didn’t stick.”

“What about throwing spears?”

“It dodged with its wings or swatted them away. I tried tossing one secretly, but with that many eyes… it looks like it has no blind spots. I even tried nets, but it was a hassle. I’ve called for a sorcerer, but they haven’t arrived yet.”

Well, it was expected that a prince wouldn’t be foolish, and he’d have tried everything possible. Ray sighed and said,

“You shouldn’t expect much from sorcerers. They’re utterly useless against such evil gods.”

Suddenly despair began to spread. Just then, a shout came from above.

“I’ve been waiting, you feathered bastard!”

It was Arpen. As Ray looked up, he was startled to see…

“Die!”

He ran along the corridor and jumped off the railing! From the ninth floor! He spun once, did a somersault, and thrust his sword down.

Everyone was shocked. That was just suicide. But perhaps it was such an unexpected attack that Halpas suffered a slight cut from Arpen’s Oblivion Blade.

What happened to Arpen, you ask?

He fell.

But he used the momentum from his run, across the corner of the square hall, and landed with a thud on the fifth-floor railing! He barely managed to hang on.

Thanks to throwing away his heavy great sword using the rebound of his spin. The great sword crashed down to around the third floor with a deafening sound!

“Haha! I still got a hit in!”

“Are, are you okay?”

“Ah—of course I’m fine. Who do you think I am? I am Arpen Albasete! The greatest genius born from the Albasete Tribe and the Swordmaster… Ouch! Ugh, how embarrassing.”

Hanging from the railing, Arpen wiped his nose. It looked like he must have grabbed something indiscriminately and got it stuck. He clumsily wiped away the burst of blood from his nose and crawled back up.

Once he reached the top…

“…Nice to meet you. I am Pablo de Klaus.”

Of all the times, right in front of the prince.

The prince couldn’t ignore the awkwardness of not greeting him, nor could he provide a proper greeting. Perhaps thinking the same, Arpen flushed with embarrassment and extended his hand for a handshake.

“Ahem! This first meeting isn’t particularly pleasant. I am Baron Arpen Albasete.”

“No, no. The valor of the knight is beautiful. To injure that creature is truly commendable.”

“Ahem, well… it’s nothing much. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be going. I need to retrieve my sword. Don’t worry about Halpas. I’ll catch him.”

Arpen disappeared down the stairs to find his discarded sword. Ray was left somewhat shocked.

‘What an incredibly foolish person. Whether good or bad, is that really the only way to approach it?’

To catch something meant to land on the ground, so one had no choice but to jump. If arrows and spears were useless, that seemed to be the only option.

Moreover, it was fortunate that Halpas was indoors. Otherwise, the very thought of capturing it would have been impossible.

Ray scratched his head, gathering his thoughts. Even if it seemed silly, he wondered if it might be possible to tie ropes around the knights’ waists and have them jump. Just then, Halpas let out a series of caws.

– What a monumentally foolish human. I’m impressed. So then… I’ll play with you a bit properly!

Halpas flapped its wings quickly and began to spiral around the hall. It seemed like it was increasing speed, looking to dodge the previous attack, but soon, Ray, the prince, and the knights were horrified.

“Stop! That madman!”

With Halpas flapping its wings, the lights of an entire level of the corridor went out.

The hall, lined with marble walls, had no windows, and when the lights went out, it was total darkness. The only source of light illuminating the knights’ path was the wall-mounted lanterns, causing everyone to panic.

Halpas cawed joyfully.

– Come on, try to jump, humans. I love defeat, but I also like unruly bravery! That too belongs to the defeated! Caw! Oh? My son! Finally, you seem to be listening to me!

In the midst of this, even the prince, who had been acting as the knights’ commander all night, found his vision hazy and unclear.

Ray’s sight went completely black.